N160SE

The airplane collided with terrain about 1,300 feet short of the runway. As the airplane entered the vicinity of the destination, the pilot opted to circle the gravel airstrip to assess the wind conditions. He noted the landing strip was sloping, comprised of gravel, and measured about 1,300 feet long by 50 feet wide. The windsock indicated calm wind conditions and he decided to land upslope following an airplane ahead. The pilot extended the downwind leg of the traffic pattern to allow for adequate separation and configured the airplane with 10 degrees of wing flaps.

As the pilot turned onto final approach he further extended the flaps to the 20-degree position and reduced the airspeed to 60 miles per hour (mph). As the airplane approached the runway the pilot noted that he was too close to the ground with too slow of an airspeed. He applied full power but the airplane settled toward the terrain, impacting about 1,300 feet short of the runway.

The pilot noted no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane or engine that would have precluded normal operation.